What CPP? #Utilities already ahead of renewable goals

The Clean Power Plan (CPP), officially released this week, is meant to help utilities reduce carbon emissions — among other things — but many utilities are well on their way already.

Texas utility Austin Energy said that, while they support the implementation of the CPP, they have been working toward the goal for a while — and “already produces power with twice the renewable content of the Texas market.” Last year, the utility contracted buy purchase 150 megawatts (MW) of solar from West Texas, and are scheduled to get 55 percent of their power from renewable sources by 2025 — and much of the remainder from nuclear.

According to the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) Monthly Energy Review, the electric power sector is already on its way to cleaner energy — well before CPP was implemented. They said that the industry emitted less carbon dioxide in April 2015 than they have since April 1988 — 128 million metric tons of carbon dioxide (MMmt CO2).